We have signed the following call in support of the self-managed sector in Argentina. For many years now, the recovered workplaces there have been powerfully demonstrating that workers are capable of managing their workplaces themselves, making the rule of capital unnecessary. We invite everyone to actively join the solidarity campaign. For more information, contact gruppe_arbeitszeit@riseup.net (German) or solidaridadERT@proton.me (Spanish/English).
Worker-recovered enterprises in Argentina represent the most emblematic contemporary example of self-managed labor—not only in Latin America but worldwide. They emerged in the 1990s during the height of neoliberalism and gained global visibility following the 2001 Argentine crisis, which saw more than a hundred occupations of factories and businesses of all kinds. Today, the movement includes over 400 worker cooperatives across Argentina, ranging from industrial factories and food producers to service providers of all types—including schools and hospitals. Around 14,000 workers make their living through self-managed labor in these companies, which were abandoned by capital and brought back into operation through the struggle, determination, and creativity of their workers.
The emergence of recovered enterprises revived the historical experience of self-management within the debates of the working class and social movements—beyond institutional cooperativism.
This experience is now at risk under the far-right, ultraliberal government of Javier Milei, in power since December 2023. Although there has not yet been a direct attack on worker-recovered enterprises, they embody everything Milei and his government oppose: a collective, community-based, and solidarity-driven model—completely opposed to the corporate-dominated market jungle he promotes and is imposing on the country. Milei’s government serves as a testing ground for a “market fascism” project, dismantling all forms of public regulation that protect popular rights, with particular attacks on healthcare, education, and labor rights. It is pushing local industry toward collapse and driving workers’ incomes to subsistence levels, while repressing all forms of opposition and aligning Argentina unconditionally with the governments of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. While Argentina is not the only country governed by this far-right variant, it could become a dangerous model if it succeeds in a country known for its strong social movements.
In particular, the worker-recovered enterprise movement is being besieged by economic destruction, falling production, declining consumption, and the hostility of judges, the media, and increasing repression. Around twenty cooperatives have closed under these conditions, and many others have seen drops in activity ranging from 20% to 80% of their productive capacity. We believe that preserving the most valuable aspects of the global self-management experience is not only a legitimate struggle in Argentina but also a vital cause for the international social movement.
For this reason, various organizations and individuals from different countries—many of them, though not exclusively, involved in the international Workers’ Economy Network—have decided to form this International Committee for Solidarity with Self-Management in Argentina. Its aim is to support the movement by raising awareness of its challenges, organizing solidarity campaigns, and promoting the circulation of its products abroad as a means of visibility and economic support—spreading the example of labor and production without bosses.
We call on all those who wish to support and express solidarity to join this committee and propose or organize actions to help strengthen and sustain this globally significant example of self-management and struggle.